5 Easy Habits to Stop Snoring

Some snoring experts call snoring a habit [1]. Whilst you don’t consciously choose to snore, they argue that your habits in your waking life are creating the snoring habits in your sleep.

Conversely, there are lots of positive habits that are easy to adopt and can massively reduce your snoring. Here are SnoreLab’s top-5 easy lifestyle habits to stop snoring naturally without having to use any specialist, invasive remedies …

1. Eat earlier

Large, late evening meals can make your snoring worse. Therefore, we strongly recommend not eating anything for at least 4 hours before you go to bed. It’s working for lots of SnoreLab users and could very easily work for you too.

“For people who would like to control their snoring, eat your dinner early – at least 4 hours before bedtime. Keep the dinner light and use the app to monitor the difference. You will be amazed!” – user review, Google Play

Having a full belly can exert pressure on your chest and affect your breathing. When your stomach is very full, your diaphragm has less room to expand and contract. This explains the shortness of breath people often feel after a particularly heavy meal.

Reflux is also a common symptom of eating late. The stomach takes several hours to empty properly. Lying down too soon after eating can allow the contents of the stomach to come back up with the help of gravity. As well as impacting the oesophagus, there is growing evidence to show reflux affects the airway which can exacerbate snoring [2].

3. Short walk before bed

A short, low-intensity walk in the evening can have unexpected benefits for snorers.

Exercise is a great step towards combating snoring, but we aren’t recommending a massive physical effort here – simply moving around can be advantageous.

A recent study by scientists in Australia found that when people are sedentary in the evening, fluid accumulates in the legs. When a person lies down, this fluid can then migrate upwards to the tissue surrounding the airway which can worsen snoring [3]!

4. Shower or bathe

Showering or bathing before bed is great for normal sleep hygiene as it lowers your core temperature which prepares you for restful sleep. Steam can also help to humidify and soothe your airway – particularly helpful if your snoring is linked to nasal breathing difficulties.

5. Sleep on your side

Switching to sleeping on your side is one of the most basic and effective ways to reduce snoring. This is because side-sleeping reduces compression of your airways.

If you often sleep on your back, there are multiple ways to shift yourself into a side-sleeping position:

Anti-snoring pillows. There are a number of different pillows designed to help you sleep in a healthier position. Explore the different types with SnoreLab’s full article on anti-snoring pillows.

Vibrating training devices. Positional trainers are devices that attach to your body and vibrate when they detect that you are sleeping on your back. This is the automated equivalent of a nudge in the ribs from a disturbed partner. Check out SnoreLab’s review of the Snooor wearable, a vibrating positional trainer.

Conclusion

Most snorers prefer to address their snoring naturally with lifestyle changes as opposed to using anti-snoring consumer remedies. One change on its own may not cure snoring, but the cumulative effect of multiple positive changes can certainly get you well on your way.